Positive-locking hook



Dec. 11, 1951 w, E. MCCORMICK POSITIVE-LOCKING HOOK Filed June 28, 1946 INVENTOR. WILLIAM E. M COPMIC/f 4 TTOQNEV Patented Dec. 11, 1951 Application Jun 28,

.1 46. sentiment Claims. 015 24- 241) the act .1of.'lVl[arch 3, 1 883, as

The invention described herein-.may-wbeimanusrfactured and used .by .or zforthe. Gioyemmentnt the United States ofrAmerieas-ifor.governmental purposes without the payment of .;any.-;r.oya1ties .thereon or therefor. V --!Ihis.inventionrelatesinigeneralato. afih ek-iand einiparticular to a.ipositiye lockingihoQk-' v It is an object of this invention :prQviQe-a .hook which closes when. itcengagescan-object by amended-AprilBO, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) H l nism contained inthe cavities formed by-the-cutout portions of the core lamina l1. 7

- A movable detentor pin 29 is housed; inthe cavityrfl, formed by a cutout of core lan'iina H, the detent'i20'ofthe disclosed embodiment being in the handling end 4| and being directed towardsthe oppositely disposed terminal end 42. The spring '22 is housed with the detentff20 fin backing engagement therewith. Abutment pin :the .act of engagement, rand thereby, locks the s 23 is' lodged at the base of ,cavity2 Liandprovides vobjectin-thehook. W r -It is a ifurthertobject :to provide azsensitiile means for tripping a positiveslocking device-in i'a-hook when thezhook engagesan object. 3 V 1 'It is :a still furtherobject to provide --a 'boat =hook that will enable a.hoat-,to1;be;,moored'to,a ibuoy temporarily without necessitating .m n I handle lines directly to thetibuoy. n

Further objectsandadvantages of this invention, as well as its construction, arrangement and operation, will be apparent fromlthe following de cr t d m intain co nec n [withv the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is .an,.elevation .of -ahogkjconstruction that embodies 'the "invention, the hook being shown in closed conditiom Fig.2 is'a crossrsectioned elevation of 1th ihook construction. of Fig. l,..the view'ibeing':ta en on line 22 of ,Fig. .3 withvthedetent showniinimlisssection on its ilongitudinal: -;center plane,- ;and showing the hook in .opencondition, and.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional.eleyation, taken on line 3- 3 of Fig. 1.

The "hook structure of thedisclosure comprises a concave -cu-rved surface- 4|! -"fori'ning a ba'yfiand extensions curving oppositely away to comprise a handling end 4| and a terminal end 42 which are disposed opposite each other with a gap between them. In the preferred construction shown, the terminal end 42 projects towards the oppositely disposed handling end 4|. The stem H may be provided to attach a handle, not shown, to the hook l2, and the stem H is preferably constructed integral with the hook structure to project from the handling end 4| in a direction away from the hook end 42.

Under the preferred embodiment shown, the hook construction consists of three laminae or layers, disposed face to face and held together by rivets H5. The inner or core lamina I! includes cutouts as shown in Fig. 2 to form certain cavities, within the construction that contain opcrating mechanism, as will be described more a seat anda guide for the spring 22. The spring '22 is tensioned'to actuate the detent under guidance of the cavity 2|,towardsandinto-en- :gagement with the oppositely disposedterminal end 42 of hook l2. The housing 2 for the detent 2llwith its spring 22 is extended into' the'stem f|| of the disclosed embodiment.

fully hereinafter. The outer layers or laminae The recess I5 is provided in theflterrnina'l end 42, by means of a cutout of the core'iamina H, the recess l5 being positioned in the patriot the detent. 20 travelling underactuation by its spring 22. When the detent v22 engages the terminal end 42 of the hook l2, its end seats in the recess l5 and is held thereby, thus closing jthehook securely. ,A detent control, generally indicated at 25,j .is housed in the structure of hook 12, in the cavity 26 formed by. a cutout ofcore lamina ll. "iThe detent control 25, comprises the gripper 28'that engages and holds the detent'20. The 'gripperfi28 is secured to the abutment or actuating finger "tobe actuated thereby. The abutment finger 3|) extends from the gripper 28 and is connected therewith through the arm,29. The gripper 28;, arr-n29 and "finger 30 thus constituting alever which is pivoted on the pin 21. The abutment finger 30 projects exteriorly of the structure of the hook l2 and into the bay formed by the concave curved surface 40.

Abutment pin 33 is backed by the spring 34 which is housed in the cavity 35 formed by a cutout of lamina IT. The spring 34 is tensioned to actuate the gripper 28 into engagement with the detent 20, the abutment finger 30 simultaneously being projected exteriorly of the hook structure in the direction away from the curved surface of the bay formed thereby. Thus, the gripper 23 under tension of its spring 34 holds the detent 20 at any position in cavity 2| that it occupies. When the detent 20 occupies the position in Fig. 2, and is held there by the gripper 28, the hook I2 is in open condition. The detent 20 is released from being engaged by the gripper 28 when an object in the bay of hook |2 presses against the abutment finger 30 and actuates it estates towards the surface 40 opposed to tension or the spring 34. The detent 20 is thereby free to move under action of its spring 22, and the detent 20 moves into engagement with the recess 15 and occupies the position shown in Fig. 1.

To operate the hook, it is first set or cocked for use. The abutment finger 30 is pressed manually opposed to the tension of the gripper spring 34, and this actuates the gripper 28 out of engagement with the detent 20. The detent 20 is now pressed manually into the cavity 21 opposed to the tension of its spring 22, and the detent is held in cavity 2| manually until the abutment finger 30 is released. When the gripper finger 30 is released, the spring 34 actuates the gripper 28 and presses it into engagement with the detent 20 to hold it. The detent 20 is thus held housed in its cavity as seen in Fig. 2, and the hook I2 is set ready to be used.

When the hook engages something, for example a mooring eye of a buoy, the object that enters the bay of the hook l2 presses the abutment finger 30 towards the surface 40, and the gripper 28 is thereby actuated opposed to tension of the spring 34 out of engagement with the detent 20. The detent 20 is thus released for the spring 22 to actuate the detent towards the terminal end 42 and into engagement with the recess 15. The position of detent 20 is then as seen in Fig. 1. The hook I2 is thereby secured to the object that is caught in it.

To release the hook [2 from the object it engages, the detent 2.0 is pressed into its cavity 2| manually, the abutment finger 30 being first pressed manually to actuate the gripper 28 out of engagement with the detent.

The hook I2 is adapted to be secured to a handle, which may be attached to the stem II in any suitable manner.

A hole 36 is provided so that a line (not shown) may be attached to the hook construction in order to provide a means of contact with the hook [2 at all times. This is especially advantageous in cases such as picking up a mooring line that is attached to a buoy, releasing the handle and at the same time being moored to the buoy by means of the line attached to the hook.

The scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:

1. In structure of a hook having a concave surface forming a bay and extensions curving oppositely away to comprise ends opposite each other with a gap between them, a detent housed 4 in the structure at one of the ends of the hook and being directed towards the oppositely disposed end, a spring for the detent housed therewith and tensioned to actuate the detent towards and into engagement with the oppositely disposed hook end, detent control mechanism housed in the structure and comprising a gripper for the detent, a spring for the gripper and an actuating finger extending from the gripper and projecting out of the structure into the bay to a position away from the concave surface of the bay, the gripper being movable alternatively out of engagement with the detent and into engagement therewith to hold the detent against actuation by the detent spring, the gripper spring being tensioned to actuate the gripper into holding engagement with the detent and simultaneously move the abutment finger away from the concave surface of the bay, actuation of the abutment finger towards the concave surface by an object in the bay of the hook being opposed to the gripper spring and operating to move the gripper out of engagement with the detent to release the detent for its actuation by its spring.

2. In a hook structure as defined in claim 1, a recess in the end of the hook opposite the detent and positioned in the path of the detent to engage the end thereof.

3. In a hook structure as defined in claim 1, a stem projecting from the detent end of the hook in a direction away from the opposite end. the housing of the detent and its spring being extended into the stem.

4. The hook structure defined. in claim 1 being laminated and comprising a core lamina and face laminae secured to the opposite faces of the core lamina, cavities of housings in the structure being formed by cutouts of the core lamina.

- WILLIAM E. MCCORMICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain July 29, 1947 

